Pistols are most certainly used in competition.
They use pistols with a magazine forward of the trigger guard, which makes them unlawful in the People's Republic of Kalifornia. I recall reading an article about a young lady, an Olympic competitor, who was seeking a change in this law so she would not have to store and practice with her Olympic competition pistol in Arizona!
Japan is not a gun friendly nation and yet there were winter shooting events. They made the contestants go through some major hoops to get their arms out of lockup; they had to be locked up when not actually in use ... talk about a bad case of hoplophobia dementia!